Air Canada plane ‘exits’ Halifax runway, 23 injured

MONTREAL: At least 23 people were hurt and petrified passengers described how they feared for their lives when an Air Canada plane veered off a runway in heavy snow at Halifax airport on Sunday (Mar 29).

All but one of the injured were later released from hospital but the incident caps a traumatic week for the airline industry, coming five days after a pilot killed himself and 149 others when he slammed his Germanwings plane into the French Alps, obliterating the aircraft. Like the doomed Germanwings flight, the Air Canada plane was an Airbus A320.

Flight AC624 from Toronto “exited runway upon landing at Halifax,” the airline said on Twitter, and pictures showed the nose of the plane sliced off, its landing gear collapsed and at least one engine badly mangled.

Passengers said the plane had circled over the airport before coming in to land and had “bounced” upon impact, shortly after midnight.

Investigators were probing what caused the incident, but heavy snow was falling in the eastern Canadian city and Environment Canada had issued a snowfall alert, warning of low visibility.

Five crew and 133 passengers were on board the plane, according to Air Canada.

Passengers described scenes of panic.

“There was a couple people, all bloodied. Everybody was able to get out, but what was worse was that they left us for an hour outside in the blowing snow,” Lianne Clark told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Some ran from the plane “because the fuel was coming out and we were scared,” she said.

Halifax airport spokesman Peter Spurway said passengers had appeared shaken as they left the plane, describing the incident as “scary.”

Greg Wright was waiting at the airport to meet his 13-year-old son.

He told CBC News he initially thought his son was joking when he called to say there had been an accident.